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Price of gas causes lifestyles changes

The price of gas has dropped to an average of $3.58 in Jacksonville this week. But no one is likely to start celebrating.

Even though gas recently nudged almost $4 a gallon, a sense of weariness now surrounds the price of fuel. People know a return the less-than-$2-a-gallon days appears unlikely and so they've begun to subtly change the way they live.

Walking and cycling

Lakeshore Bicycle and Fitness on Blanding Boulevard has seen a surge in customers since gas prices began to rise.

"We've seen an increase in what you'd call commuter or comfortable bikes," said service manager Steve Niblick. "Our new customers range from middle-age people to children just taking it up."

Some of their customers haven't ridden a bike in decades but are taking it up as a way to save gas money.

Last month, a national study found Jacksonville to be one of the three worst cities in the country for pedestrians. Last year, a national cycling publication found the city to be one of the three worst for cyclists.

But city officials say they are working on a master plan to make the area friendlier for people without cars. A master plan requiring sidewalks and bike lanes with future road projects was recently approved by the City Council.

Stephen Tocknell, a Jacksonville planner who is also a member of the Florida Bicycle Association, said the public is ready for alternative transit.

"Ever since the price of gas went above $4 for the first time in 2008, people have started changing their behavior," Tocknell said.

But Drew Johnson, owner of City Cycle in Riverside, said there is not a single road with bike lanes between his store and Jacksonville.

Unlike Niblick, Johnson hasn't seen an increase in business and blames it on the city's poor infrastructure.

"I've talked to dealers in other cities," Johnson said, "and they've had a lot more business since the gas prices went up."

Stephen Baker, a Jacksonville University political science professor, said the high cost of gas will lead to discussion of more bikes and sidewalks.

But with the city facing a $60 million revenue shortfall, talk may be all that occurs.

"Politicians have to deal with price of something right now," Baker said.

Historic neighborhoods

Residential areas near downtown Jacksonville appear to be making a comeback, with Riverside, San Marco and Springfield taking steps to attract homeowners and businesses.

"In the 1950s and '60s, people fled the urban core and the neighborhoods around it deteriorated," said Wayne Wood, the founder of Riverside Avondale Preservation and the Riverside Arts Market.

"Now the desirability of living near the city is coming back."

The high price of gas is one of the factors making the area more attractive, because people don't want long, gas-sucking drives to work, Wood said.

Redevelopment

Gas prices and people moving to historic neighborhoods could help revitalize a downtown marked by abandoned buildings. Recent estimates have about 2,600 people living in the urban core.

Paul Crawford, deputy executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, said high gas prices can encourage young people to move downtown -- but only if the downtown becomes better.

Getting them, and keeping them as they marry and start families, will require more jobs, entertainment and public transit in the downtown Jacksonville area, Crawford said.

Public transit

Since the start of this year, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority has seen bus ridership increase by 8 percent and believes it's due to the price of gas.

The agency also is making progress on a long-term goal of turning the Prime Osborn Convention Center into a regional transportation center that will house local bus service, Greyhound, future commuter and high-speed rail, and the Skyway. The project is expected to cost $180 million.

"It has a chance to be a complete game-changer for the Jacksonville community," said JTA Executive Director Michael Blaylock. "The price of gas is leading people to look at public transportation."

Tolling

If you haven't heard the phrase "public-private partnership," you will.

The concept of a government agency entering into a partnership with a private company has been embraced by Gov. Rick Scott, Jacksonville Mayor-elect Alvin Brown and the Florida Department of Transportation.

"The government really has no choice," said Peter Samuel, who runs the website TollRoadsnews.com. "There isn't any government money left for major road projects because people aren't buying gas," and federal gas taxes pay for road construction and repair.

But public-private partnerships aren't easy. The state is trying to build the First Coast Outer Beltway as a toll road from Interstate 10 in Duval County to Interstate 95 in St. Johns. But that plan fell apart when no private company would bid on the $1.8 billion project.

Samuel predicts governments will eventually have to toll existing roadways just to make repairs.

"There are roads and bridges that have been around for 40 to 50 years that are going to need major repairs," he said, "and the only way to pay for it is by tolling them."